Accessibility progress report 2024 for Library and Archives Canada

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General

Report summary

Library and Archives Canada's (LAC) first Accessibility Plan was based on consultations with people living with disabilities—users of LAC's services and programs, including employees. The Plan uses recommended tools and processes to assess the institution's accessibility readiness. LAC is prioritizing a proactive approach to accessibility by identifying and eliminating barriers before they are an issue.

The second Accessibility Progress Report gives details about what was achieved under the priority areas of the Accessible Canada Act during this second year after implementation of the Plan. The Report also provides general updates.

It should be noted here that in its Accessibility Plan, LAC omitted the priority area of transportation. Although progress in this area cannot be reported, consultations have begun on aspects of transportation that may be relevant to the institution.

By establishing a dedicated Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) Centre of Excellence, LAC is laying the groundwork to more effectively eliminate barriers encountered by users and employees who live with disabilities.

Feedback received in 2024 on LAC's Accessibility Plan and accessibility experience demonstrates that promoting workplace accommodations is still a priority and that users of LAC's services (the general public) are more comfortable asking for accessibility measures.

Contacting LAC

To provide feedback on accessibility, communicate with LAC and obtain copies of LAC's Accessibility Plan and progress reports in other formats.

Mail

Accessibility - Library and Archives Canada
550 de la Cité Blvd.
Gatineau, Quebec J8T 0A7

Email

Accessibilite-Accessibility@bac-lac.gc.ca

Social media

Library and Archives Canada | Ottawa ON | Facebook

Bibliothèque et Archives Canada | Library and Archives Canada : posts | LinkedIn

TTY phone

Call 613-992-6969 (Canada's National Capital Region) or toll-free 1-866-299-1699 (elsewhere in Canada) Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

* Canadians who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech-impaired, can access our services via their own interpreter or via Canada VRS, which provides an interpreter.

Providing feedback

To leave feedback either on LAC's Accessibility Plan or on barriers encountered at LAC, or for more information about how feedback is handled at LAC, please refer to the accessibility feedback mechanism. You may add your name and contact information if you would like LAC to follow up with you on your comments or feedback. If you prefer to submit feedback anonymously, you can do so by omitting your name and other identifiers from your message.

Other formats

You can use any of the communication channels outlined above to request alternate formats of this Plan, such as print, large print, audio, Braille or electronic formats compatible with adaptive technologies.

Progress under the Accessible Canada Act priority areas

Employment

Barriers

LAC's 2022 Accessibility Plan identified specific barriers in workplace accommodations:

  • Workplace accommodations are perceived as a financial burden for the administrative unit in which the person with a disability works.
  • Employees are not sufficiently aware of self-identification or workplace accommodations and where to obtain them.

Eliminating these two specific barriers is part of the Plan's goals in the immediate term.

Solutions

Recruitment

LAC continues its recruitment efforts to reduce the gap in the representation of persons with disabilities in its workforce. To achieve this goal, the following measures were taken:

  • In order to contribute to and promote inclusive recruitment, LAC's Human Resources and Security Branch (HRSB) continues to promote tools, resources, and pools from equity groups to managers.
  • HRSB promoted the Federal Internship for Canadians with Disabilities Program (FIPCD) in 2024 through informational emails.
  • Following our participation (in November 2023) in the Ottawa Career Fair for students and recent graduates with disabilities, a directory was created and continues to be shared with managers with recruitment needs.
Awareness
  • As part of a diversity and inclusion conference series, the Corporate Services Sector held its first session for their employees with a guest speaker to discuss neurodiversity in the workplace.
  • During National AccessAbility Week 2024, HRSB promoted the Addressing Disability Inclusion and Barriers to Accessibility (INC115) course offered by the Canada School of Public Service.
  • Communications were also focused on the tools available in Microsoft 365 suite applications. In addition, employees could explore Microsoft's website, Accessibility technologies and tools | Microsoft Accessibility, for more details on the features that make these apps more accessible.
EDIA Action Plan in People Management

Following the 2023 Employment Systems Review (ESR) exercise, an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) Action Plan for People Management was developed in consultation with internal governance committees, employees of equity groups, unions and LAC management. This plan was approved on July 30, 2024, by LAC's Management Team.

Self-identification

LAC continues to encourage employees to self-identify in MyGCHR. An automated message asking to complete self-identification appears in the system as soon as the employee first uses the system.

In addition, LAC participated in consultations on the modernization of the Employment Equity Act (EEA). Feedback on the questionnaire was submitted on June 28, 2024, to the Treasury Board Secretariat. As a result, LAC was able to provide feedback on the terminology and expansion of designated groups as one of the key elements of the EEA review.

Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport

The implementation of the Government of Canada (GC) Workplace Accessibility Passport at LAC was communicated to employees on January 18, 2024. A presentation to managers was offered at the Virtual Exchange Forum on February 28, 2024. The Accessibility Passport has been promoted in various communications over the past year. A reminder was also shared during the open sessions on the hybrid workplace with executives, managers and employees in the summer and fall of 2024 .

Duty to Accommodate

As part of the development of tools following the Treasury Board Secretariat's updated Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace, the process for requesting accommodation was reviewed to make it more efficient.

Several open sessions on the prescribed presence in the workplace were offered to executives during the summer of 2024 and the duty to accommodate process was addressed to better equip management to understand proper steps and documents required. In the context of accommodation requests, the delegation of approval has been lowered to facilitate decision-making and enhance confidentiality. An approval process for the purchase of ergonomic equipment was also approved in 2024.

Evacuation plans

In order to review, establish and communicate detailed evacuation plans for employees and users with disabilities, LAC regularly communicates the measures to be taken in the event of an emergency. Collaborative work takes place between employees in need of assistance and their management in order to put in place the appropriate measures to ensure the health and safety of employees in the workplace.

Remarks on progress

LAC's HRSB remains dedicated to fully implementing the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport and to increasing awareness about self-identification as well as obtaining accommodations. It is actively working to ensure clarity and foster an environment where employees and managers can confidently engage in the accommodations process.

The built environment

Barriers

LAC's 2022 Accessibility Plan identified specific barriers in its built environment:

  • Accessibility features of LAC's built environments are not sufficiently communicated to the users and to employees.

LAC is the custodian of six buildings across Canada. A new facility shared with the Ottawa Public Library, Ādisōke, is under construction. LAC also leases space in the National Capital Region in addition to sharing spaces in Vancouver and Halifax. All of these offices, points of service and documentary heritage preservation sites help LAC fulfill its mandate.

Solutions

Immediate term
  • All of LAC's buildings follow the accessibility rules of the building code, but according to the consultations, there is more to be done to raise awareness and create a welcoming environment.

Remarks on progress

  • Review barriers in the built environment, as required by the Directive on Management of Real Property
    • LAC reviews the needs of its buildings on a regular basis, including accessibility needs. The needs identified are included in the organization's real property investment plan based on overall priorities and available funds.
    • LAC provides different types of workstations that offer ergonomic equipment and accessible workstations to its employees.
  • Review and publicize evacuation plans for people with disabilities
    • Provided by the Director General of Human Resources and Security
  • Establish effective feedback processes on building accessibility, both from employees and the general public
    • For LAC employees, a generic email address allows them to raise any issues encountered in LAC facilities, including any accessibility barriers.
    • The public can provide feedback to security or LAC representatives for public events.
  • Include mechanisms to ensure that accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities are considered in the design of a built environment
    • Best practices in accessibility are taken into consideration when developing new real estate solutions.
    • In designing the Ādisōke Joint Facility, which will open its doors to the public in Ottawa in 2026–2027, LAC consulted widely with the general public. Several topics, including accessibility and inclusion, were reviewed. Following these consultations, the project's Accessibility Consultant and Accessibility Advisory Committee provided recommendations that were incorporated into the design of the new facility. The Ādisōke project team ensures that these design measures are incorporated during the construction of the building. In addition, LAC and the project partners (the Ottawa Public Library and the City of Ottawa) aim to achieve Gold Accessibility Certification from the Rick Hansen Foundation, which is a national rating system that measures and certifies the level of true access of buildings and sites.

Information and communications technologies (ICT)

Barriers

LAC's 2022 Accessibility Plan identified specific barriers within its information and communications technologies (ICT) processes:

  • Employees lack awareness about accessible ICT tools they can use.
  • ICT-related accessibility issues are only reported through LAC's generic IT ticketing system, which means there is no tracking of accessibility specifically.
  • LAC's procurement process for obtaining ICT products that ensure accessibility had not been fully defined.

Eliminating these specific barriers is part of the Plan's goals in the immediate, mid and long terms.

Solutions

Immediate term

Instigate accessibility-specific tracking processes and ramp up awareness of accessible ICT tools

  • In collaboration with Shared Services Canada's (SSC) Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptove Computer Technology (AAACT), the Digital Services Sector (DSS) has a process in place to properly evaluate accessibility needs by LAC employees and ensure that the right IT equipment is ordered, installed and configured for employees with accessibility needs. LAC has facilitated and completed accessibility requests to the satisfaction of requesting employees and continues to do so as requests come in.
  • DSS has security assessed, installed and configured new productivity and collaboration work tools for LAC employees. These tools offer several accessibility features including text-to-speech, speech-recognition and more. A change management plan was employed during the deployment of these tools to actively promote their adoption including accessibility features among LAC users. For example, some of the Microsoft tools such as Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and others offer out of the box functions or resources which makes user content accessible to everyone.
Mid term

Develop findings, recommendations and specific actions to meet new ICT Accessibility Standard

  • Phase 2 of LAC's internal-facing application Military and Government Personnel Information Index (MAGPII), which was developed based on the ICT Accessibility Standard, began production in December 2023. For all new development and updating existing applications, LAC will conduct a full analysis to identify where improvements can be made to ensure compliance with the ICT Standard.
  • All of LAC's Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (BI) reports have been developed using SSC Power BI Accessibility best practices. The only exception is for the application of LAC's brand colours, which do not currently follow the colour combination contrast ratio suggested in these best practices. The LAC Communications Division is currently reviewing LAC's branding, taking into account accessibility aspects. The BI reports will be adjusted accordingly once the new branding colours are identified.
Long term and ongoing

Adopt new ICT Accessibility Standard

  • While TBS updates phase one of the ICT Accessibility Standard as part of a commitment to an accessible and barrier-free Canada, LAC seeks to adhere as much as feasible to the Harmonised European Standard (EN 301 549) and the TBS Guideline on Making Information Technology Usable by All.

Formalize accessibility considerations and requirements into ICT procurement processes

  • In the development and acquisition of new ICT tools, LAC's ICT sector continues to include people who will use these technologies throughout the development and procurement process to understand barriers, identify accessibility requirements, conduct user and accessibility testing and ensure that the final product meets requirements.

Continue to liaise with Shared Services Canada's (SSC) Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology (AAACT)

  • The ICT sector at LAC continues to liaise with SSC on AAACT and has adopted the technology for internal employees' accommodation purposes. To note, the Service Desk makes use of this AAACT service from SSC. Accessibility requests are validated by this SSC group; they provide a more in-depth assessment and help the service desk tailor equipment purchasing.
  • To provide accessibility for all employees, LAC's Chief Information Officer, in partnership with SSC, is leading LAC to make the most of accessibility features in Microsoft 365.

Communication, other than ICT

Barriers

LAC's 2022 Accessibility Plan identified specific barriers within its communications processes:

  • Policy-driven requirements for documents, presentations and other products must be accessible. Where such requirements exist, they occur in isolation. They should also be tracked, documented and promoted.
  • LAC's public website meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA, but improvements are required.
  • Plain language is inconsistently applied in LAC's communications.
  • LAC service points respond to accessibility issues on a case-by-case basis, resulting in deficient or non-existent systems and accommodations for diverse communication needs.

Eliminating these specific barriers is part of the Plan's goals in the immediate, mid and long term.

Solutions

Immediate term

Test all existing public-facing LAC web products against the latest ICT accessibility standard

  • All newly developed LAC web content follows the WCAG 2.1 (level AA) standard.

Review plain language protocols and applicability

  • LAC reviews all new services and collections content through a plain language lens.
    • Text across the website comes in at a Grade 8 readability level on average.
    • Information is presented in segments from most to least important.
    • Images have accompanying descriptive text.
    • Video content is closed-captioned.
    • Audio content includes transcripts.
    • Bulleted lists make the pages easy to scan and understand.
    • Content is now organized in easy-to-use templates. These templates come from user experience research done in-house.

Remarks on progress

LAC's ongoing web renewal efforts continue to make its web presence more accessible. Some accessibility highlights from LAC's web team in 2024 include:

  • Revamped Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) content with a focus on plain language.
  • Applied templates to align ATIP content with the rest of the website.
  • Added a step-by-step online assistant for making ATIP requests. This application helps users navigate what is typically a complex process.
  • Launched a new search tool for one of LAC's most popular databases (First World War Personnel Records). The new version uses the Canada.ca template and comes with instructions written in plain language.
  • Completed plain language reviews for form emails and templates in Client Services Division.
  • Continued to clean up online content, specifically of GenApps, ensuring that LAC's public-facing databases are compliant with the Web Content Management System. This task included closing all the former census applications, as this data is now available in the new Census Search, which meets Canada.ca standards.
  • Optimized web user experience by improving page titles, content and information architecture to maximize findability via search engines and navigation of our site.

The procurement of goods, services and facilities

Barriers

LAC's 2022 Accessibility Plan identified specific barriers in the procurement of goods and services:

  • No evaluation is available on the accessibility requirements that LAC's suppliers are delivering.
  • There is no way to know if bidders are providing Accessibility Conformance Reports.
  • An approval process specifically addressing accessibility remains to be defined for suppliers of goods and services to LAC.

Solutions

Immediate term

Develop a plan to evaluate appropriate accessibility requirements for suppliers of goods and services across LAC

  • To ensure that accessibility criteria are included in requirements when appropriate, LAC has incorporated Public Services and Procurement Canada guidelines and the Directive on the Management of Procurement requirements into its procurement process.

The design and delivery of programs and services

Barriers

LAC's 2022 Accessibility Plan identified specific barriers in the design and delivery of programs and services:

  • Historical materials and documentary heritage have generally been exempted from accessibility standards due to volume, variety and complexity.
  • LAC has not historically had any feedback mechanisms to seek input from people with disabilities on the accessibility of programs and services, whether digital or in person.
  • There have been no internal assessments of accessibility in LAC programs and services at the organizational level.
  • There is no general training for service staff on how to provide services to people with disabilities.
  • When service staff find accessible solutions for individual clients, these solutions are not promoted or integrated at an organizational level.

Solutions

Immediate term

Establish active feedback mechanisms with a solution-oriented, “start with yes” approach for addressing barriers

  • The feedback mechanism is in place at all LAC's client services points.

Promote accessibility features and solutions as they are developed in response to feedback

  • Comments, questions or concerns related to accessibility of services are still forthcoming via the dedicated services feedback form.

Identify or develop practical training modules for service staff

  • LAC is currently exploring options for training front-line staff on how they can better anticipate accommodation needs and provide those accommodations to clients in respectful ways. Several avenues are available.

Remarks on progress

In 2024, the following initiatives have been undertaken:

  • Developing practical training modules for service staff in research support and the Regional Services Branch is underway in order to ensure that front-line staff are better able to accommodate client needs.
  • Establishing a feedback framework for centralizing user feedback received via disparate channels (email, telephone, in person, web surveys, user testing) for analysis, to eliminate barriers and improve access to information and records.
  • Ensuring new applications, such as the new Collection search and public lists, meet WCAG 2.0 AA standards for web accessibility.
  • Documenting existing services through service blueprints to identify barriers and pain points to improve digital and in-person services for the public.
  • Consulting with users in person (e.g. at 395 Wellington) or via virtual meetings to identify barriers and to improve services.

Transportation

As it does not offer transportation services as described by the Accessible Canada Act, LAC did not incorporate the priority area of transportation in its first Accessibility Plan submitted in 2022.

LAC will consider the transportation priority area in its second Accessibility Plan in 2025.

Planning for transportation

Preliminary consultations were conducted with LAC's accessibility advisory group, Accessibility Exchange and Dialogue.

LAC sourced the new Accessibility Standards Canada standard CAN-ASC-7.1, Accessible Travel Journey, as a guideline.

Transportation focus areas were identified using this standard, and a series of questions were formulated to address transportation gaps.

These questions will extend to all other sectors directly involved, such as Real Property Management, Security and Circulation in Collections.

Consultation

  • Consultations were conducted on the draft report on December 2 and December 3, 2024 via virtual meetings in both official languages with visual interpretation provided in American Sign Language and Langue des signes du Québec.
  • Questions posed were about the current state of accessibility and expected progress over the coming years.

Remarks about consultations

Through its EDIA Centre of Excellence, LAC will explore soft polling and social media as forms of consultation going forward. Yearly consultations will also be held with employees, key priority area leaders and with the public.

Feedback

We have received general accessibility-related requests, comments and questions. This feedback has either been submitted through online web forms or sent to the Accessibilite-Accessibility@bac-lac.gc.ca inbox.

The following is a summary of the volume of feedback received, by theme, from January 1 to November 30, 2024.

  • Employment
    • Two questions about the Return to the Office process
    • Two questions about the Duty to Accommodate process
    • One comment about accessibility for employees
  • Built environment
    • One comment about accessibility of washrooms
    • One comment about navigating the LAC location
  • ICT
    • One comment about accessibility standards
    • One comment about online content
  • Communications other than ICT
    • One comment about plain language
  • Procurement
    • One question about accessible procurement clauses
  • Design and delivery of programs and services
    • Three requests for the LAC Accessibility Plan
    • Three questions about accessibility measures for researchers
    • One question about tools for neurodivergent users
    • One question about ATIP procedures
  • Other
    • One question about being part of a consulting body
    • One question about specific contact person

Once receipt of the feedback or question had been sent, the individuals responsible coordinated the answers.

Summary

Responses were made within service standards of maximum five days as stated on LAC's Accessibility Feedback Mechanism.

Additional priority area: Culture change

Barriers

Initial consultation results for LAC's Accessibility Plan showed that disability can still be invisible and stigmatized. Not all users and employees who live with disabilities experience LAC as a safe place.

Some specific barriers in this area were identified:

  • Culture change has not been discussed or planned for systematically at an organizational level in the past.
  • Employees and clients do not feel safe or comfortable speaking about situations they encounter, and they do not expect meaningful actions and changes.
  • Institutional resources are not sufficiently dedicated to culture change, inclusion and accessibility initiatives.

Solutions

Immediate term

Establish centres of expertise to support the implementation of related action plans and culture change at LAC

  • LAC is actively in the process of establishing and staffing an Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) Centre of Excellence. This EDIA Centre of Excellence is currently functioning to respond to Accessibility Plan-related issues among other priorities.
  • LAC's EDIA Centre of Excellence is tasked with
    • Developing and promoting EDIA across LAC
    • Supporting LAC's growing EDIA web of activities
    • Identifying EDIA goals and actions specific to different sectors
    • Collaborating across LAC on EDIA in projects, policies, programs, initiatives and activities
    • Reporting to management on EDIA commitments, actions and feedback across LAC
    • Ensuring the application of EDIA obligations and legislative requirements in LAC's submissions to central agencies
    • Mining existing EDIA-related data across LAC, and identifying and correcting data collection gaps
    • Supporting EDIA reporting, training, championing and employee networks

Remarks on progress

The EDIA Centre of Excellence creation was paused briefly but activities started again late 2024 with new resources being onboarded.